APRIL FOOLS!
The history and traditions behind this comical holiday!
In 1582 France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. However, it took time for the news to reach everyone, and some people didn’t observe the new year in January. Instead, they observed the new year on the first of April, and they were made fun of on that date. Typically, people taped a fish on their backs because it was a symbol that they were “an easy fish to catch” meaning that they were gullible.
In Rome, there were festivals where people dressed up in funny costumes at the end of March. Also, it was said that the vernal equinox, or the first day of spring, typically observed around the end of March, brought unpredictable weather. Thus, they said that Mother Nature was fooling them on the first days of spring.
In Britain during the 18th century, a two-day tradition started. The first day consisted of “hunting the gowk,” where people ran random funny errands. A gowk is another word for a cuckoo bird. The second day was Tailie day, where people played pranks on each other involving their butts. Essentially, they pinned fake tails or “kick me” signs on their butts.
As of current, many people still participate in these fun events, which are now held on April 1, April Fools Day. These people often go to all lengths to play a good prank. Here are some examples of excellent pranks that various people perform on April Fools Day:
-News Stations: A BBC station reported that Swiss farmers had had a record spaghetti crop. They explained that the farmers grew spaghetti on trees. Millions of viewers believed what they heard!
-World War Pilot: In 1915 a French World War pilot flew over Germany and dropped what looked like a bomb. But, the bomb never exploded and everyone was very confused. Upon inspection, people realized that the pilot dropped a football with a note on it that said “April Fools!”
-Adolescents: Ah, the fake pregnancy gag. There are many videos on YouTube and Instagram of girls telling their boyfriends that they are “pregnant.” And the results are priceless! This prank is almost predictable at this point because it is used so often.
-Children: My little brother is a prime example of this. Today, he decided to fill the entire pantry with all the balls he could find in the house. Then, when my dad opened it, they all fell open on him. He also tuned all the picture frames in the house upside down! Ah, to be a ten-year-old again!
-Food Chains: Taco Bell announced that it was buying Pennsylvania’s Liberty burger in 1996, and said they would be renaming themselves Taco Liberty Bell. People were not so happy about this one!
References:
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day
https://www.funny-jokes-quotes-sayings.com/april-fool-pranks.html
This was hilarious, thanks for sharing all of the cool little quarks that have happened throughout history on April fools. I think the pilot example was the most outrageuos. That guy was a savage. For April fools day, I stole 5 of the 8 of my roomates mattresses and hid them!
ReplyDeletehahah I had always been curious about the history of April Fools! Glad I finally got some context. My mom tried to play a trick on me half way across the country but I caught onto her. I feel like dropping a fake bomb over Germany would be taken a lot more seriously, but I guess not (?) I can also definitely see Taco Bell pulling April Fools pranks, they are very in tune with all audiences.
ReplyDeleteI loved learning about the history of this day! I never knew it was rooted so far back in history, I definitely thought it a holiday manufactured in the US and then spread overseas. It was very entertaining to read some of the famous pranks, and I always find it funny to read how gullible so many people are today!
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of those recurring events that very few people know the origin of. On April 1st I always forget that it's April Fools Day and I regularly get pranked. Once I even thought about setting an alarm on my calendar to remind me!
ReplyDeleteLoved reading about the history of the holiday. Usually I don't get pranked too bad, but I do fall for a little joke during the day. This year, USC Barstool's Twitter said they finally fired our AD Lynn Swann and I was stoked (come on, 5-7????). I told my roommate and then on my way to class I checked my phone and saw "APRIL 1" and realized they got me. Savage.
ReplyDeleteThey said USC fired him, not our Barstool.
DeleteI didn't know that there was so much history behind April 1st. I like the tradition of being silly during this day.
ReplyDeleteThis was an awesome blog! I didn't know anything about the history of the holiday and honestly didn't think I cared to know but you gave some great insight about it that was super cool to read about!
ReplyDelete-Christian
For some reason, I never bothered to research where April fools originated from so I found this post very interesting! This year, my neighbors stole their roommates mattress and hid it in our apartment for the day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for enlightening me about April fools. I had no idea about any of its history!
ReplyDelete-Ryan Baer